Successful Practices & Strategies Vol. 3 | No. 5

Phoenix Police Department 

Phoenix, Arizona 

https://www.phoenix.gov/police 

Community policing element 

Community partnerships and problem solving 

Problem/issue 

School-based policing 

Problem description 

The Phoenix Police Department is presently focused on the furthering community-based policing 

through the schools by utilizing school resource officers (SRO) during the summer months when schools 

are not in session. The challenge is deploying current SROs during the summer recess to continue youthbased community engagement and law enforcement. 

Community policing strategies implemented 

During the 2014 summer break period for schools in the city, the Phoenix Police Department’s School 

Resource Officer program became actively involved in the Safe Summer Program. The Safe Summer 

Program is an educational and enforcement program where existing SROs are assigned to one of four 

details to focus on juvenile safety during the summer recess. The first component is a youth community 

engagement component focusing on educating juveniles to prevent youth violence through the Wake 

Up program. The Wake Up program was developed by the Phoenix Police Department to educate 6th–

9th grade students on how to make appropriate life choices, avoid violence, and participate in 

community service projects. SROs worked in five Wake Up clubs from across the city for a period of 

seven weeks to lead Law Related Education programs and group activities. The second component 

focused on community education to deter juvenile crime. Ten SROs worked with community partners to 

deliver educational presentations to youth on topics ranging from drug use to youth violence. The SROs 

focused their efforts to work with community and business organizations such as the Arizona Science 

Center, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Phoenix, and YMCA to deliver Law Related Education 

presentations in several locations across the city. The third component focused on enforcement of 

juvenile related crimes in the community. Eighteen officers are assigned to conduct proactive 

enforcement in areas of the city experiencing incidents of youth violence, as well as to proactively focus 

on youth drinking parties and gang activities. The 18 SROs coordinated with the Youth Alcohol Squad, 

the Gang Unit, and patrol officers to conduct proactive enforcement in the selected areas of the city. 

The final component focused on improving school safety by conducting school site evaluations for safety 
and threat mitigation. Six SROs, working with the department’s Homeland Defense Bureau, conducted 

41 additional school site evaluations to increase the total number of schools receiving site evaluations to 

184 participating schools. 

Change and/or impact as a result of these community policing efforts 

The community engagement and education aspect of the program consisting of the Wake Up clubs and 

community engagement teams saw significant success in interacting and connecting with youths across 

the valley in a variety of venues. Engagement activities increased interaction with community members 

and enhanced partnerships between the Phoenix Police Department and several of the city’s businesses 

and social service corporations. The Law Related Education program at the Arizona Science Center was 

so well received that the SROs were invited back to deliver additional educational presentations during 

the winter holiday break. The school site threat and vulnerability evaluations conducted during the 

summer helped to enhance school safety by providing feedback to school officials to reinforce the safe 

school environment. 

Lessons learned through program implementation 

The community engagement aspect of the program requires significant planning and coordination as we 

were dealing with several community partners across the city. The service delivery and scheduling 

challenges can be offset by starting the planning process several months prior to the summer recess 

period to include development of lesson plans, coordinating commitments from community partners, 

and scheduling officers to ensure the program is able to meet the needs and expectations of the 

community. As for the site evaluations, advance planning is required to coordinate with the schools 

requesting to receive site evaluations, as well as coordinating the necessary training and certifications 

for the officers that will be completing the site assessments. In addition, a single coordinator to lead the 

school site evaluation program should be identified to ensure appropriate scheduling and tracking of the 

evaluations. 

The opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the 

U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, products, or services should not be considered an 

endorsement by the author(s) or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement 

discussion of the issues. 

The Internet references cited in this document were valid as of the date of publication. Given that URLs and websites are in 

constant flux, neither the author(s) nor the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services can vouch for their current validity. 

Published 2016